Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Islamic hard-liner has won the Presidential elections amidst the usual allegations of ballot-rigging. There was also an extremely low turnout, which seems odd given the pre-election hype about dissatisfaction with the mullahs by the new urbanised Iranian middle-classes that I read about recently.

An ex-military man, he will undoubtedly be bullish re. the Iranian nuclear program and the new Iraqi government. And I suppose we won't be getting our boats back either

I'm sure some of the foreign policy/ middle east spotters on the forum will be able to add something interesting to what this means for the region, but to this layman it doesn't look like particularly encouraging news does it?

This is a direct result of US foreign policy, whether desired or not, as pointed out earlier.

The neocons will probably embrace this as a welcome development, as an excuse to "kick Iranian butt". Anyone with a shred of common sense and who has spent some credible time in uniform (unlike war-dodgers Dubya, Cheney and Rumsfeld) or who is currently in uniform, will despair.

The US said the election was "flawed" and described it as "out of step" with regional trends towards democracy.

Quite right too, they bypassed the essestial first step to democracy of being invaded first

In Washington, a state department official said the US would judge Iran under Mr Ahmadinejad by its actions.

Hello Pot , this is kettle, what is my colourstate, over?

"In light of the way these elections were conducted, however, we remain sceptical that the Iranian regime is interested in addressing either the legitimate desires of its own people, or the concerns of the broader international community," the spokeswoman said.

Click to expand...

As you sow , so shall you reap.

What a bloody disaster. I predict an exodus of the young and talented from Iran , especially women.

A result to be expected considering the "Dubbya Factor". There is no way that there would have been a major change in the theocractic leadership in Iran after the destabilising effect on the entire region with the invasion of Iraq. Israel, as ever, rumbles in the background and no doubt continues to build on what it has already, capitalising on the "they are looking at Iraq/Iran *phew* no one will notice us move a few more Palestinians/Arabs out of the way" situation already occurring. Syria and Lebanon continue to do what they do best. Afghanistan continues to cost money and breed another generation of the discontented.

I am also cynical about the timings of certain pronouncements of late from certain MLAAAARs in Charge. They need to justify the massive spending on Defence and Intelligence. This gives them the excuses they will no doubt use in the future to launch more action in an already fragile area. Problem is they will not solve any problems as there is an inherent requirement for them to continue in this fashion. A united ME would be as disastrous for US (read UK/Oz) foreign and economic policies due to the potential for further manipulation of oil supply. A divided ME will continue to seek certain concessions and assistance from the US - which suits Dubbya just fine.

Good news, in a way, for GWB and his followers as it makes the case against Iran, re. WMD, more plausible.

Not such good news for Iranians and, most likely, a rigged result. Whilst most Iranians are fed up, both with the Mullahs and the graft and nepotism rife in Iran just now, few would see a return to fundamental Islamic values as the way ahead; rather, this is what got them into the current mess in the first place. Without open government, corruption was bound to prevail.

Ahmadinejad's vow to distribute Iran's oil wealth to its citizens sounds good in the short-term, but is unlikely to hold up. The question is: what oil wealth? Without foreign expertise, the oil will stay undiscovered and underground; Iranians simply lack the technical and managerial know-how to find it and get it out.

A few years ago, I read a security estimate of Iran, which concluded that Iran would undergo a second revolution as a young population tired of social constraint. The prediction was for approx 2010-2015. This may have hastened the process.

They've had a taste of it now, so it will be difficult to let it go, especially if his hardline attitude prevails. Despite the mess that is Iraq, I would imagine that Iran, would be concerned about an American attack.

The only true way for the moderate muslims to achieve a true democracy (and that's what some will want) is to tackle the problem from within. I think that a civil war will occur there as the pro western Iranians grow tired of being oppressed